Hi all,
I've spent considerable time in the SA mallee, Flinders and Strzelecki
regions on & off over the past few weeks. Following extensive rainfall
(120-150 mm since the beginning of Nov) the northern areas are covered in
carpets of green. There is water lying everywhere especially in the swales
between dunes along the Strz. track and Merty Merty area. Birdlife is
prolific and breeding events are about to take place, with hundreds of
Budgies around, many of which checking out nest hollows, and in green areas
the air is full of the song of Rufous and Brown Songlarks, White-winged
Trillers, Pied Honeyeaters and Crimson Chats.
Other good birds seen include:
- A brilliant male Red-lored Whistler performing at close range, Bookmark
Biosphere mallee; here also Striated Grasswrens in very low numbers compared
to previous years but finally starting to think about breeding, and small
numbers of Major Mitchells;
- 4 Short-tailed Grasswrens at 5m, and plenty of Grey-fronted Honeyeaters
and Chirruping Wedgebills, and a close-up view of Black-eared Cuckoo,
Flinders Ra's;
- Many Thick-billed Grasswrens, 4 Chestnut-breasted Whitefaces, several
Cinnamon Quail-thrushes, some Rufous Fieldwrens, Strzelecki region;
- 2 Gibber Chats on the Strz track at a few meters in front of the (stopped)
car;
- Small numbers of Inland Dotterel;
- Crimson and Orange Chats throughout;
- Roosting on one of the temporary 'lakes' was a flock of Gull-billed
Terns, while some White-winged Black-terns were flying above another lake;
- Hundreds of Black-tailed Native-hens have invaded the temporary wetlands;
- 2 Eyrean Grasswrens in the white dunefields of the Strz. regional reserve,
and a further 2 on the red sand dunes of Merty Merty;
- 4 Ground Cuckoo-shrikes in Sturt NP;
- and the highlight 2 Grey Grasswrens in lignum swamps east of Tibooburra.
Also here a Black Falcon.
See my website (below) for further info.
Cheers
Peter Waanders
Southern Birding Services
PO Box 420
Waikerie, South Australia
mob.: 0438 882675
sat.: 0424 212889
SA Birding: http://www.sabirding.com
E-mail1:
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